Welcome Class of 2021

UCAS PARENT INFORMATION EVENING

**PLEASE TURN CAMERAS AND MICS OFF**

We will be beginning at 4.05pm

We will be taking questions throughout using the chat function (click

"hide participants" and select the speech bubble icon to enable chat.

Email c.orchin@arkbolingbrokeacademy.org with any questions if you do

not have access to chat but wish to ask a question during the

presentation.

Positive Points – Student Leaderboard

Points of Praise!

• Adapted well to new

platforms

• Highly engaged in

classes

• Making good

contributions – verbally

and via the chat

function

• 100% attendance

• Meeting deadlines

• In regular contact

Monica414

Pepa 374

Jack 340

Atticus 318

Charlotte313

Oghale-Oghene308

Aliyah 288

Sarah 285

Owena 285

Curtis 275

Ella 274

Abdullahi 273

Sajid 270

Angel 260

Jessica 250

Congratulations to

Oghale (Head Girl),

Ben (Head Boy),

Salma and Osayi

(Deputy Head Girls),

Curtis and Yemi

(Deputy Head Boys)

Class

of 2021 Head Students

Staying the same – online

learning

✓Check your Show My HW every day.

✓Check your office 365/Bolingbroke email every day.

USE CHROME.

Changes to your online learning

1. You will use your MS Teams calendar to access your

video lessons.

2. For the majority of your subjects you will submit your

work through MS teams/class notebook.

3. We will be taking registers for tracking attendance and

adding your positive/negative points and sharing these

regularly.

Step 1: Login to your office 365/Bolingbroke email.

Step 2: Click on Teams

Step 3: Click on your class! You will have one for each subject.

Step 4: see what has been posted in your class

team by your teacher.

Step 5:complete the work/assignments on Class Notebook!

Step 6: Check your calendar to access your video

lessons.

1. Be on time. Check you can sign in etc. 15mins before. Sign in with full

name.

2. Always have your exercise book/ a sheet of paper/ your exam paper/ a

blank word document before the lesson begins. Be consistent with

note taking. This needs to all be saved/recorded and will be checked

when we return to school.

3. We expect that your camera is always on.

4. Keep your microphone off/muted.

5. Only speak/unmute your microphone when asked to.

6. Use standard English in the chat function and only direct the messages

to your teacher.

If you agree with someone – click on the “ * icon into the chat window.

If you disagree with someone – click on the * * icon into the chat window

If you would like to speak to your teacher – please type *RAISES HAND* into the

chat window.

Online Classroom Behaviour

Positive Points:

• You will get +1 for simply joining the lesson.

• Your teachers will be awarding multiple positive BE BOLD’s during

the lesson.

• I will be shouting out these points during their Assemblies for the

top 10 pupils in each year for BE BOLDS

• I will also be sharing these points with your parents ☺

• These will count towards prizes and privileges (Leavers' Ball,

hoodies, yearbook, vouchers etc.

Negative Points:

• Not attending an online lesson or submitting your key piece of

work. -3 You do not want to fall behind! Unit 9 w/b 6th May. Mocks

w/b 8th June – further communication to follow.

1

4

If you miss an online lesson:

We will email you and your parents to find out why you were absent.

Your designated staff contact discusses why you are missing lessons

with your parents and you during their call home.

If you miss two or more online lessons in a week:

Commendation Letters

1

6

Our contact with you:

We understand that Covid 19 will be

creating challenges in UK homes, for

example:

- Work and financial challenges

- Personal emotional challenges

- Relationship challenges

We are a compassionate community so we are here for

each one of you,

at all times.

Have you received The VIew via BB Post?

This is an essential opportunities newsletter

which will now feature a HoY weekly bulletin.

Watch out for it in your inboxes!

Please read through and encourage your child

to take up all opportunities!

Questions?

Please type into the chat function.

Ms. Robinson

Careers, Research and Development

Lead

Timetable of events past & future-Y12

• Re activated the Morrisby platform or started the

process.

• Started to shortlist University subjects and

University locations and completed the survey

monkey*

• Ongoing opportunities posted to SMHW and added

to The VIEW re Uni open days / talks / internships

and Apprenticeships

Hadi

Tessa

Shiloh

Salma A

David

Roufaida

Samuel

Alex

Jessica

Joel

Salma M

Edward

Yemi

Moriah

Phoebe

Owena

Sonny

Inigo

Alfred

Hillary

Monica

Iman

Aaliyah

Pepa

Charlotte

Benjamin

Bahja

Oghale-Oghene

Aliyah

Chloe

Abdullahi

Sajid

Atticus

Nicholas

Salma K

Osayi

Thank you to the

students who have

completed the survey

as requested.

If you have not yet

completed it, please do

so immediately after

this meeting. I sent the

link by email.

You do not have to have

a final answer just add

your ideas so we can

help you.

The link is

https://www.surveymonkey.

co.uk/r/Z2BTZSR

Why is this important?

Timetable of support for the summerA new Thursday AM briefing now has a ‘next steps’ focus. This will

be every Thursday from 9am – 9.45am

Students invited to the meeting through email

Workshops will be:

• Super Curricular activity 23/04

• Choosing a course and university 30/04

• How to write a personal statement 07/05

• Applying for Higher/Degree Apprenticeships 14/05

• How to apply through UCAS 21/05

• Student finance and bursaries 04/06

• Personal Statement deadline 10/06

• Summer Break Planning 25/06

Summer HolidaysThis is your opportunity to

• continue your research

• visit universities online (towns and cities)

• make any final decisions re choices

• Shortlist Companies to apply for Apprenticeships

(and note deadlines and process)

• Complete Super Curriculum activities to support

applications and make them stand out.

• Practice admissions test past papers

Timetable for Autumn

• July : Students receive A level predicted Grades*

• September: . Final Five University / Apprenticeship choices

agreed and personal statement updated with summer activity

and completed.

• October: Bolingbroke deadline for all applications is

November.

• Oxbridge, Medicine & Veterinary science end of September

for submission before the October deadline (15th )

• Oct-Jan: Check all Apprenticeship deadlines

• Nov-Feb: Await offers and attend interviews. Monitor offers

using UCAS Track.

• Art foundation applications sent by Christmas

• Feb- May: UCAS extra; narrow down possible five offers to

firm and insurance choices

Getting started seriously!

Which pathway?

Which subject?

Which company?

Think it through!

Choose wisely but with ambition

• Right academic course for you? 3 years of your life

• Which subject / courses would I enjoy the most?

• Single subject or mix?

• Are you able to cope with the independence and

academic step up?

• Reflect on possible future careers – am I creating any

barriers by my choice of degree subject or

apprenticeship?

• Foundation? Vocational or semi vocational

Location, Location, Location!

• City, small town or coast

• Single or multi campus

• Live on, out or at home?

• Be Brave! It would be great to live in a new place for

a few years

• Financial implications of choice e.g. train fares / rent

Go and Visit!

Specific Research Tips

• Start with one of your A Level subjects and see what

subjects link to it.*

• Morrisby

• www.ucas.com

• Staff / tutors advice

• Conversation with Ms Robinson

• Online open days

• University prospectuses and websites

• Sunday Times / Guardian / Telegraph Uni guides

• https://unistats.direct.gov.uk

Fine tuning your choices

The offers fall into 2 categories:

1. Some offers require students to get certain grades

at A Level (e.g. AAB or D*DD)

2. Some offers require students to obtain a certain

number of points using the UCAS Tariff system e.g.

(120 points)

UCAS Tariff

Grades

/

Course

A* A B C D E U

A level 56 48 40 32 24 16 0

Grades /

Course

D*D*D* D*D*D DDD MMM PPP

BTEC

extended

diploma

168 160 144 96 48

UCAS points & Apprenticeships

Most Higher and Degree apprenticeships use the

UCAS point system to help them select candidates

too. (Graduate jobs also look at UCAS points)

Don’t forget LAMDA, music exams over certain grades

also earn UCAS points – check the calculator on the

UCAS website

EPQ / ECDL

Making ChoicesStudents can apply for 5 different courses

Final predicted grades will be given out in July based on

assessments and professional judgements from your teachers.*

Make 5 choices – 1 above, 3 on the predictions and 1 below as

insurance.

Example:

A student predicted BBC should make 5 realistic choices based

on the above:

1 choice at BBB, 3 at BBC and 1 at BCC or CCC

Once the universities have replied with their decision, the

student will select TWO final choices.

Admissions testsSome courses and Universities will require you to take

an admissions test.

You need to check this and let the sixth form team

know as soon as possible that this is required.

You will need to practice and we can help you find

resources to do this.

Most tests will be done in school in the Autumn but

there is an early cut off point to register for most

tests.

UCAT for medics is sat in July

The Application Form and the Personal

Statement A personal statement is the student’s opportunity to sell

themselves.

The 'word' limit is 47 lines of text, or 4000 characters. This

equates to (roughly) 500 words.

This should be written in both a word doc (as back up) and

Morrisby before being copied into the UCAS application.

UCAS will check for plagiarism and it will need to be technically

accurate.

We will read every statement and give detailed

feedback but you must meet the deadline

FIRM DEADLINE – JUNE 10TH

Personal Statement• We encourage parents to read and help with the

personal statement (but not write it for them)

• Sometimes you might be aware of something that

has been missed out.

• At least 2/3 should be on why the student wants to

do the course. Be passionate and include evidence of

academic rigour.

• There is more information in the handbook, in

Morrisby plus students can request support from the

sixth form team.

This process is useful for

apprentice applications too

Once the student section is ready

• Subject staff prepare academic references by June (this is why

we need you to complete the survey about your plans)

• Civitas tutors also prepare a character reference looking at

attendance, punctuality and school involvement.

• Both are checked by the Sixth form leadership* team and

added to the UCAS application

• The application will then be reviewed by the leadership team,

be reviewed by the student and then submitted to UCAS.

• We aim to send the applications as close to November as we

can for all students.

The same rigour will be applied to

all apprenticeship applicationsCost to apply is £25

Once the application has been sent…

• Students monitor their offers through UCAS Track

• Many students will receive offers / rejections /

interviews before Christmas

• Some universities wait until the Jan deadline

• Students must inform the Leadership team as soon

as possible if they have an interview

• Mock interviews will then be put in place.

Acceptance of offers and UCAS Extra

• Mid-March / April: Students inform UCAS of Firm

and insurance choice

• Insurance should be a safety net in case results aren’t

as expected but you must be willing to accept the

place.

• Students can use UCAS Extra for 1 application if:

• All 5 universities reject them

• You are not happy with the places offered and you

decline them all.

Replies to offersOnce final decisions are received for your choices, a maximum of two offers

may be held.

You have a choice of three replies.

• Firm – if all conditions are met, this is your first choice and where you

will be placed if you meet the conditions of your offer.

• Insurance – usually lower conditions in case the firm choice conditions

are not met; acts as a back-up (it is optional to have an insurance

choice).

• All other offers must be declined.

If all decisions and replies are made and you are not holding a place, you may

be able to use UCAS Extra or Clearing to find available places. See

www.ucas.com for more details.

May

deadline

Results Day

• Students will know the details of confirmed choices

before they get their grades at school.

• Sixth Form leadership team will be in school

• UCAS Clearing support available if needed.

• Do not plan to be out of the country on results day

More information about this will be provided once you

are in year 13.

Reasons you may be entered into Clearing:

1.You did not meet the conditions of your firm or

insurance choice.

2.You declined all your earlier offers on UCAS

3.You were not made any offers originally

4.You completely change your mind and do not want

to accept either your firm or insurance choice (if

you just want to change to a similar course at the

same University then this does not required clearing

and you should contact the University directly)

Clearing 2021

Time to practice telephone calls

Adjustment 2021• Adjustment is used if your results are much better

than expected and you want to change University to

one with higher entry requirements.

• It is open from results day and is optional. If you do

not find a better place you will keep your original firm

choice. You must have exceeded your firm offer to be

put into Adjustment.

• You will see the option to register for Adjustment on

UCAS track from results day.

Other things to

consider • Finance – course fees, travel, and living costs.

• Travel – to and from your country, and within the

UK.

• Accommodation – university and college halls or

private residences?

Visit www.ucas.com/finance for more information and

links to relevant organisations.

Additional helpUCAS Customer Experience Centre0371 468 0 468

From outside the UK:+44 330 3330 230

Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 18:00 (UK time)

Find us online at:

www.facebook.com/ucasonline

www.twitter.com/UCAS_advisers

Art and Design Courses

• UCAS: Apply for Foundation courses this way but

you must check!

• Non UCAS applications for some Art Foundation

courses e.g. Uni of Arts London

• Portfolio prep with Ms Gougeon and Mr Thomas

• Check application process with Ms Robinson

Drama, Music and Dance

• UCAS

• Guildhall School of Drama

• RADA

• CUKAS (7 Conservertoires) – UCAS

• Degree courses in Dance

Again – speak to Ms Robinson as soon as possible as

each course is different

Student Finance

Details can be found on the gov.uk website

Students will have a workshop on Student finance

applications in the Summer and then reminded when

to apply in 2020

Bursaries and scholarships will be circulated when we

know them but please check individual universities

too.

Details of Bursary opportunities will be posted in

SMHW and in The View newsletter.

Higher/ Degree Apprenticeships &

School Leaver programmes• Learn on the job but must have decided a career

path already.

• Will take 3-4 years to complete

• The starting point is the Gov Apprenticeship website

– you can register and set up email alerts.

• Interested in a particular employer go to their

website

• Don’t wait until the deadline to apply as some will

close the applications once they have a certain

amount of applicants

• Larger Company vacancies will be available in the

Autumn (from September)

• Majority from Jan / Feb

• Start research now – alongside your university

research

• Hurdles before face to face interview – application /

online test / phone interview / group interview

• Apply for the Ark Apprenticeship programme in Sept.

Ms Robinson will post vacancies regularly through The

VIew but you will also need to be proactive.

• Let the Sixth Form team know you are interested in this

pathway

• Create a CV and keep it up to date

• Use Morrisby to research careers and opportunities

• Visit websites of different companies to see if they offer

apprenticeships or School leaver schemes.

• Register with the National Apprenticeship Service

www.apprenticeship.gov.uk

• Set up Text / email alerts on the sites / companies which

interest you.

• Get Interview experience

Apprenticeship Levels

Type of

apprenticeship

Level Equivalent

educational level

Intermediate 2 5 GCSE passes at

grades A* to C

Advanced 3 A-level pass

Higher 4, 5, 6, 7 Foundation degree and

above

Degree 6, 7 Bachelor or Masters

degree

Key Contacts

• Ms Gelder

• Ms Orchin

• Ms Robinson

• Mr Knight

• Mr Lennox-Hilton (Early Entry support)

If you are worried about anything to do with Post 18

please ask

Please can you:

• Let us know in the chat box if you have done

anything for the community to help with the Covid

19 outbreak.

• Email across any pictures of great achievements

made with DL!

Ms C Orchin

Assistant Principal, Director of Sixth Form

Mr K Lennox-Hilton

Teacher of Biology

Oxbridge, Medicine and Higher Courses

Enrichment Lead

What are we looking for?

The application process

Choose

course

Choose a

College or

open

application

UCAS

application

15 Oct

SAQ (Cam)

22 Oct

Admission test(s)

/assessment?

Check registration

deadline

Interviews

(Dec)

Decision

(Jan)

Submit written work

and/or take

admission test(s)

/assessment

1 in 5

applicants made

an offer (on

average)

What information do we use to assess applications?

We consider every application individually,

taking all aspects into account:

• Academic record

• Personal statement

• Teacher’s reference

• Performance in any admission test /

assessment (where required)

• Written work (where required)

• Contextual data

• Interview (if interviewed)

No part of an application is considered in isolation –

all available information is looked at together before

decisions are made.

The application process: Choosing a course

www.cam.ac.uk/apply

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

• Think about what you enjoy

• Look at course details

• Talk to staff and students today

Choosing a College – where would you like to live?

• 29 undergraduate Colleges in Cambridge

• 34 undergraduate Colleges in Oxford

• Differ in terms of:

• accommodation

• appearance

• facilities

• size (number of students)

• Instinct

• Open application www.cam.ac.uk/choosingacollege

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

Pre-interview assessment registration

• Registration deadline for others

– 15 October 2020

• Assessments taken –

Early November 2020

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

www.cam.ac.uk/assessment

Admissions Assessments for 2020 entry onwards

- Purpose? To supplement information in your application and

provide a gauge of your abilities

- Type? There will be two forms of admissions assessment, one

taken before the interview stage and one taken at the

interview stage

- Use? These assessments are not pass/fail tests – important to

stress that your performance in any required written

assessment won’t be considered in isolation

Form of assessment for each Cambridge course for 2020 entry:Courses with pre-interview

assessments

Courses with at-interview

written assessments

ASNC

AMES

Chemical Engineering

Economics

Engineering

English

Geography

History

History and Modern Languages

History and Politics

HSPS

Medicine

Natural Sciences

PBS

Veterinary Medicine

Archaeology

Architecture

Classics

Computer Science

Education

History and Modern Languages

History of Art

Land Economy

Law

Linguistics

Modern and Medieval Languages

Philosophy

Theology

UCAS application

Completed online – application

deadline 15 October

Personal statement

• Be honest and write with integrity

• Cover your interest in your course, relevant subjects you

have studied, super-curricular exploration

• Extra-curricular activities not relevant to the course applied

for aren’t taken into account in our considerations

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

Preparing to apply

Programme of study• Course choice is the most important decision –research thoroughly, personal

interest(s)

Results• Work hard to do as well as you can in your current studies

Engage and explore• Be proactive in your learning – current studies and interests relevant to your

intended degree

Practise• Discussing your academic interest(s)

• Past/example admission test/assessment papers

• Time management – generally and for exams

Supplementary Application Questionnaire

(Cambridge Only)

• Used to collect information not in the UCAS application but useful when

assessing applicants, including:

• topics covered in AS/A Level

(or equivalent) courses

• optional Cambridge-specific

personal statement

• Ensures consistent information about all our applicants

• Completed online, in multiple sessions if you want www.cam.ac.uk/saq

Course College

Admission assessmen

t registration

UCAS:

15 Octobe

r

SAQ:

22 Octobe

r

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

Written work and at-interview

assessments

www.cam.ac.uk/assessment

Course College

Admission assessmen

t registration

UCAS:

15 Octobe

r

SAQ:

22 Octobe

r

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

At-interview written assessments:

• no need to register in advance

• taken when you’re in Cambridge for interview

(if interviewed)

Written work:

• for a number of our courses you may be

asked to submit one or two examples of your

written work from a relevant A Level/IB (or

equivalent) course

Interviews

• Usually first three weeks of December

• One, two or three interviews

• Each 20-45 minutes

• Conducted by lecturers

• Predominantly

academic and subject-focused

No trick questions and not the ‘final hurdle’

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

Application outcome

The Colleges are responsible for all undergraduate admissions decisions, and notify students of the outcome of their application in January

www.cam.ac.uk/apply

1. You may be made an offer

• May be from the College you applied/was allocated to, or from a different College as a result of your application being ‘pooled’

• Conditional/unconditional

2. You may be unsuccessful

• Don’t be deterred from applying by the prospect of not being successful –we can only offer places to those who apply!

Course CollegeAdmission

assessment registration

UCAS:

15 October

SAQ:

22 October

Written work and/or admission

assessment

Interview (Dec)

Decision (Jan)

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply to both Oxford and

Cambridge?

Which subjects do I need?

Is there a minimum GCSE

requirement?

What’s the most important part of an

application?

Which Colleges are better for which

subjects?

Are some Colleges easier to get into

than others?

What extra-curricular activities will

help my chances of admission?

Finding out more

• Ask questions today!

• Undergraduate Prospectus

• Alternative Prospectus

• www.applytocambridge.com

• http://ousu.org/applying

• Undergraduate Study website

• www.cam.ac.uk www.becamb

ridge.com

• www.ox.ac.uk

• Contact the Cambridge

Admissions Office or any

College admissions office

Open Days & Events University Admissions Office admissions@cam.ac.ukstudy@ox.ac.uk

Medicine so far and next steps:

• 14th Feb UCAT workshop for Med and Dentists

• Healthcare - clinical skills day at St Georges

• Medicine Evening at St Paul’s School – Tuesday 3rd March, 4:15-5:30 pm

• Project Oxbridge workshops. 7th March. Globe

Over the next few months, we are also pleased to be able to offer the following

support for Project Healthcare students:

• BMAT preparation online workshop for Medicine and Dentistry Pathway students

• Access to St George’s University live webinars on healthcare university applications

and healthcare careers

• Newsletters for students with healthcare-related opportunities and resources to

support preparation for university application

Activity Date

Jesus College, Oxford, webinar17th April, 14:00-15:30

Online tutoringMarch-June

Project Access Mentoring March-January

Research Challenge Launching on 24th April. Submission

by 31st July

Admissions test webinars and resourcesMay-July

Super-curricular learning resources April - August

Results day support August

APPLICATIONS FOR MEDICINE

Key Headlines

Average application ratio – 10:1

The Medic Portal – Royal Society of Medicine.

4 medical schools only – 5th choice is still important!

SOME establishments DO have slipstream into medicine, most don’t.

UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) is used by different universities in different ways

Registration opens: 1 May at 9am

Registration closes: 18 September at 5pm

Booking opens: 1 May at 9am

Online booking closes: 18 September at 5pm

Final booking deadline: 1 October 2020 at midday

BMAT (Biomedical Admissions Test) – Avoid choosing more than 2 BMAT universities.

1 September: registration opens.

1 October: registration deadline – standard fee.

15 October: final registration deadline – higher (late) fee.

31 October: test date.

23 November: results.

APPLICATIONS FOR MEDICINE/VET MED/DENTISTRY

Key Headlines

3 aspects to consider:

1) Location

2) Course Structure

3) Course Length

Course Structure

Traditional

- 3 years of science,

limited patient contact

New

- Integrated

- Early patient contact

- Structure

Problem Based

Learning

- Small groups

- Clinical Scenarios